South Dakota from a Biblical Christian Worldview

July 15, 2010

Instead of dealing with the federal government take over of more South Dakota land, Pat Powers continues to lie and defend Tony Dean. Here is a comment he made on his blog where he is being challenged to take a position on Tim Johnson's Tony Dean legislation by his readers:

Tony was first and foremost a conservationist, as opposed to being political.However, I also recognize there were many times he stood with the GOP, as opposed to the times he stood against it.

I dare say he spent more days of his lifetime supporting the GOP than Sibby has so far.

Maybe Sibby continues to go after him for the sake of jealousy.

Instead of making false accusations, why can't Pat Powers deal with the issues. I hunted with Tony Dean before he passed away, and I will cherish that time with him forever. I do appreciate what Tony believed in. I simply disagreed on the "how" part.

We should not continue down the road to serfdom. And as timed as passed, my experiences have taught me that both parties are going down the wrong road. We should drop the partisan politics and instead have a truthful discussion on the issues. The main problem I had with Tony Dean was that he refused to accept the truth about Tim Johnson's voting record on Bill Clinton's attack on gun shows.

July 14, 2010

[Update: Pat Powers responded to this post without denouncing Johnson's socialist plan. So the points made by this post have been confirmed.]

Looks likeTim Johnson wants to use Tony Dean's name to advance the socialist anti-property rights agenda in South Dakota:

Hermosa ranchers Scott Edoff and Dan O'Brien live just 3 miles apart, but the men have vastly differing opinions on a proposed wilderness designation for 48,000 acres of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands.

The neighbors testified Wednesday before the Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee considering the Tony Dean Cheyenne River Valley Conservation Act of 2010.

Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., introduced the bill in May that would designate more than 48,000 acres of the grasslands as wilderness.

The U.S. Forest Service recommendation designating land in the Indian Creek, Red Shirt and Chalk Hills areas as wilderness would create the nation's first grasslands wilderness, according to Johnson.

Here is how Tony Dean got his name attached to this socialist legislation:

There is no grassland wilderness in America, but we have a chance to change that. President Bush has proposed the creation of the 71,381-acre Cheyenne River River Valley Grassland, which makes up just 0.15 percent of South Dakota…and this land is already in public ownership. It includes cedar ridges, incredible vistas, rugged badlands country and excellent big game herds. The beauty is haunting, and to see it is to say, “Let’s save this…one of the last great places.” Some say this isn’t the time to create wilderness. I say it is the best time because it is still wild country.

But its fate depends on South Dakota’s congressional representatives; Senator’s Tim Johnson and John Thune, and Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth. To date, Johnson and Herseth have stepped forward to say we’ll embrace this. Thune has not, and the reason is what it’s always been…politics and elections. The usual opposition of public land grazers and a few county commissioners, who combine to make noise beyond their numbers, always strikes fear into the hearts of elected officials. Perhaps that’s why Teddy Roosevelt is my favorite President. He was a fearless leader, one who stood for conservation.

The gloves then came off. The Republican Party, long fracturing between conservatives and progressives, split into two corners: the Old Guard, siding with Taft, and the Insurgents, who felt that Taft's policies were tantamount to a blatant rough-riding of Roosevelt's legacy. As president, Roosevelt had energetically traded blows with the spawn of the industrial era—the newly created corporate monopolies, the big Beef Trust, Standard Oil Co., American Tobacco—earning himself the nickname "trustbuster." He had also championed conservation. Taft, though not opposed to government reform, noticeably lacked his predecessor's zeal.

Stalemate. By 1912, it was clear that the Republican Party would be hard pressed to agree on a candidate. Taft, the reigning electoral champion, weighing in at 340 pounds, was the obvious choice for the Old Guard. The Insurgents, after briefly flirting with Wisconsin progressive Robert La Follette, threw their allegiance to Roosevelt. Though initially hesitant to go haunch-to-paunch with his hefty former ally, Roosevelt acceded to their pleas in February 1912.

The battle for the Republican nomination degenerated into spectacle. Taft portrayed Roosevelt as "a flatterer of the people," "a dangerous egotist," "a demagogue." Roosevelt responded similarly, calling Taft a "fathead" and a "puzzle wit." Roosevelt held the upper hand, at first. He dominated the spring primaries and entered the Republican National Convention in June just shy of the delegate count he needed to win the nomination. But the Old Guard, which controlled the committee tasked with assigning the rest of the delegates, clearly favored Taft. A handshake here, a few wrist-squeezes later—and the Republicans handed Taft the nomination, by a hair.

The Insurgents went nuts. Roosevelt stormed out of the convention his enraged followers in tow. He quickly accepted the nomination of a newly formed third party, the National Progressives.

Pat Powers' devotion to Tony Dean, whose favorite president was Teddy Roosevelt, brings truth to the statement that Pat Powers is part of the Progressive Movement, whose aim is to destroy conservatives as history from 1912 shows. Tony Dean was co-leader of Republicans for Tim Johnson in 2002, but Pat Powers ignores that fact. Instead he seems to be furious that I exposed the folly of Tony Dean and helped change the dynamics of the 2004 Senate race here in South Dakota. The race whose end results changed the dynamics in America. But only for a short while.

Tony Dean's favorite president split the Republican Party by running as a independent, and allowed Woodrow Wilson, another member of the Progressive Movement, to become President. So why is Pat Powers painting me as anti-Republican for running as an independent? Mike Vehle is part of the Republican Progressive Movement. The movement is about Big Government;the anti-thesis to limited government, liberty and freedom. It is against individuality and is instead for statism and collectivism.

I am trying to save not only the Republican party, but also South Dakota and America from the same Progressive Movement that has also taken over the Democrat Party. That not only explains why Tony Dean supported Democrats, but also explains why conservatives should not trust Republicans who claim to be conservatives, but don't walk the walk in regard to the Republican platform.

I will be presenting more research on the South Dakota Republican Progressives who are using, not only out os state, but influence from outside the United States, to influence public policy here in South Dakota.

The Progressive Movement is about transforming American into another socialist European state. Leading that charge today is Barack Obama. And the Progressives of the South Dakota Republican Party are intent on implementing many of the policies of Barack Obama. And so are the far-left Daschle/Hildebrand faction of the South Dakota Democrats. And let us not forget that there were Republicans for Daschle in 2004.

Yes, both parties are under control of the anti-American Progressive movement. Their only fight is over which special interest group obtains the most political control in order to get a bigger cut of the money that becomes available from an ever-expanding government. Time for the truth to be told. Time to take the elephant skin off of Pat Powers and see the RINO that is found inside.

September 02, 2008

Before going to the Democrat convention in support of Barack Obama, Tony Dean sent me some emails:

According to the NRA's American Hunter magazine, they have placed Tim Johnson in a group of Senators who have earned their support. Do you suppose that's why they contributed to his campaign?

And then this:

Steve:

As you are probably aware, the NRA has contributed to Sen. Tim Johnson's campaign...and American Hunter listed him among a group of incumbents who have earned the support of the NRA and gun owners.

Recognizing your past views of Sen. Johnson on the subject of guns, plus the face you often took me to task for supporting him and even suggested I wasn't pro-gun, what do you make of all of this?

Tony Dean

Those are some great questions. I would hope that Tony Dean now understands that the NRA is not just a bunch of pro-Republican Kool-Aid drinkers. Since 2002, Senator Tim Johnson has a very pro-gun voting record. And that is what the NRA cares about, not partisan politics. Prior to Senator Johnson’s inability to debate becoming known, his re-election was in little doubt. So I am not surprised that the NRA would contribute to a likely Senator.

But I consider that a huge mistake. First we must not forget that in the wake of Columbine shootings, Senator Johnson turned his back on gun owners in order to keep his appropriations position with the Democrat controlled Senate chamber and voted in favor of President Clinton’s anti-gun legislation. A voting record that Tony Dean refused to acknowledge during the 2002 Senate race. And I will also point to the recent 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court to overturn the DC gun ban. The Second Amendment’s survival from the radical activist judges will depend on a Republican Senate controlling the future makeup of that Court. The NRA should understand that Joel Dykstra has a solid pro-gun state level voting record. They would be wise to endorse Joel Dykstra.

And in regard to Tony Dean’s status on gun rights, supporting Barack Obama will not convince me that he is pro-Second Amendment. In fact just the opposite as this column shows:

Barack Obama has a liberal problem. To be specific, he’s too liberal for the general American public. He’s got a radical leftist background, complete with a twenty year relationship to Rev. Jeremiah "God Damn America" Wright and a former Weather Underground terrorist as a political mentor, and a voting record that puts him to the left of Ted Kennedy in the Senate

So to offset that Obama’s been trying to convince voters that he appeals to both Democrats and Republicans. He illustrated this broad base of appeal by starting a group called "Republicans for Obama" that featured former Senator Lincoln Chaffee. Who, ironically enough, also happens to be a former Republican

Because nothing says "Republicans for Obama" like politicians who quit the Republican party

Anyway, Obama is pulling this same stunt again in South Dakota where he has "life long Republican" and sportsman Tony Dean backing his campaign. The problem? Dean, who was considered for the Democrat ticket for Congress at one point and who is an active backer of Democrat Senator Tim Johnson, isn’t even really a Republican

[F]ormer Joyce Foundation board member Barack Obama has secured yet another faux Second Amendment supporter in "lifelong Republican" Tony Dean, a long-time host of hunting and fishing television shows in South Dakota. Dean told the Dallas News he’s switching parties to head a Sportsmen for Obama group

A "lifelong Republican" that is "switching parties to head a Sportsmen for Obama group"?

This is an interesting claim, given that Dean was mentioned by the Rapid City Journal in 2003 as a "possible Democratic candidate for Congress" who endorsed Democrat Senator Tim Johnson for reelection just a year earlier. Dean’s efforts to draw gun owners to Johnson weren’t enough, and Johnson’s Republican challenger, John Thune, became a U.S. Senator from South Dakota. According to public records, Dean donated money to another anti-gun South Dakota Democrat, Tom Daschle, also in 2003

For Tony Dean to have "switch[ed] parties to head a Sportsmen for Obama group" he would have to have done so at least two years before Obama was even elected to Senate, and five years prior to he announced his presidential bid. Indeed, it appears the word ‘lifelong’ is as difficult for Dean and the Obama campaign to define as the word ‘is’ is to Bill Clinton

Dean is quoted by the Dallas News as saying he’s "99 percent sure a President Obama isn’t going to infringe on gun rights." But seeing as Mr. Dean, who at least one blogger has been dubbed "South Dakota’s Al Gore" because of his fervent belief in human-cause global warming, describes himself as a "moderate on the gun issue" who "opposes the NRA on most gun issues," his assurances about Obama aren?t likely to be much consolation to pro-gun voters.

It gets worse. Dean’s endorsement of Obama is supposed to help shore up Obama’s problem with gun-owning Americans (read: most Americans) despite Dean’s own decidedly mixed record on guns. But it’s all just deception, as Obama’s gun record (something the Obama campaign has been less than truthful about) is about as anti-gun as you can get:

A candidate questionnaire shows that Mr. Obama supported a ban on handguns in 1996. In 1998, he backed a ban on the sale of all semiautomatic guns (a ban that would encompass the vast majority of guns sold in the U.S.) In 2004, he advocated banning gun sales within five miles of a school or park (essentially a ban on all guns sold in almost all the states). Possibly, even more importantly, he served on the board of the Joyce Foundation, probably the largest private funder of anti-gun and pro-ban groups and research in the country

The Obama campaign "flatly denied" the 1996 statement supporting a ban on handguns, blaming it instead on a staffer from his state senate race who they said had incorrectly filled out the candidate questionnaire. But the Politico obtained a copy of the statement and found Mr. Obama’s own handwritten notes on it indicating that he had personally checked and corrected answers.

This is the problem with Obama. He’s campaigning as a change candidate. A candidate whose authenticity is above reproach. But in order to appeal to a wide swath of Americans, and not just the uber-liberal enclaves in places like San Francisco and Chicago, Obama can’t be who he really is. He has to hide behind deceptive answers to gun issue questions, and faux Republicans like Tony Dean and Lincoln Chaffee.

August 28, 2008

The Dallas Morning News did an analysis of Obama’s rural strategy (remember, those of us who gling to our guns and religion):

Barack Obama, after losing most of the rural South to Hillary Rodham Clinton in the primaries, will stress pocketbook issues this week to woo voters in the wide open spaces.

If recent elections are any guide, the Democratic convention may be Mr. Obama’s last shot at building rural support.

A lifelong city dweller, Mr. Obama is tugged in opposite directions on whether to stick with — or scale back — his campaign’s springtime swagger that it would "expand the map," challenging John McCain in reliably red states where rural voters may be key.

And Obama’s big white hope…none other than Tony Dean:

Outdoors TV show host Tony Dean, a lifelong Republican, said he’s switching parties to head a Sportsmen for Obama group. Mr. Dean said he’s "99 percent sure a President Obama isn’t going to infringe on gun rights."

Well Mr. Dean, I am 100% that a far-left elitist mocking rural folks who cling to their guns and religious cannot be trusted with our gun rights. And now I understand why Tony Dean and Pat Powers hate Rush Limbaugh:

"They’re not looking for a tribe, they’re looking for somebody to represent their issues very well. And if they’ll just look, instead of listening to Rush Limbaugh, they’ll find out that in most cases, the Democrats are much more in tune."

The first-ever meeting of the Democratic National Convention's Rural Council focused on McCain's no votes on farm bills authorizing subsidies and loans to U.S. farmers.

Audience members got copies of McCain's voting record to pass out at "the booths you're manning at county fairs."

Tony Dean, host of the TV series Tony Dean Outdoors, said Obama is the better choice for the environment.

"As a sportsman, I consider this election the most important in my lifetime," he said. "Can't you see the very clear connection between good fishing and clean water? Clearly, they can't."

Gays: Local, state activism

This week's focus may be national - but their fight is local, members of the Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender Americans caucus were told.

Colorado philanthropist Tim Gill, whose political bankrolling aided the Democratic takeover of the state legislature in 2004, said Democrats need to identify a few legislative or city council seats in each state held by anti-gay Republicans and put their effort into knocking them off.

"The Republican Party is controlled by a bunch of bigots, and the only way we can take control from those bigots is to take their power away from them," Gill said.

The décor looked like something straight out of the redneck wing of the Republican Party. Instead, the camouflage posters and videos of snapping trout and big game being stalked by hunters was right smack in the middle of the Democratic National Convention.

The National Wildlife Federation Action Fund had a point to all this: Gun-loving hunters and conservative anglers don’t necessarily support the GOP agenda lock, stock and barrel. And when it comes to energy policy and global warming, that constituency is up for grabs in November.

The event’s title states, "I Fish, I Hunt, I Vote Conservation."

"You better look at what the candidates really stand for," said Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), a sportsman and wildlife enthusiast who denounced Republican attacks on such laws as the Clean Water Act.

Tony Dean of the sports show "Tony Dean Outdoors" admitted that his presence at the convention in Denver might seem a little odd. "I’m a lifelong Teddy Roosevelt Republican, and I’m still a Republican," he said.

But, he added, the past eight years during the Bush administration and its conservation policies have hurt the environment that hunters and fishermen cherish. "I have seen so many significant changes in water fowl," he said.

The popular view of anglers and sportsmen is one of "a bunch of beer swilling nuts on guns," Dean said.

But his decision in November will be based on which candidate has a solution to global warming.

But the next speaker, Tony Dean of Sportsmen for Obama, is riveting. Dean is short, white-haired, rotund and he has one of the great old radio voices-- rich, warm, genial, friendly--which is not surprising, because he is a radio announcer, formerly of stock-car and Nascar racing, more recently of Dakota Back Roads, a popular and much-honored show about fishing and hunting.

"I used to be a conservative Republican," he begins, and swiftly moves on his support for South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson, his father's love of quail hunting and his mother's passion for fishing (every Saturday and Sunday!), and his long and interesting life in radio. I'm not sure where all this is going, but I could listen to him all day. And sure enough, there's a point: "This is the most important election of my lifetime. I'm not sure fish and wildlife can survive eight more years of George Bush." Dean talks about the ongoing destruction of the regulatory system that protects forests and water: "There's a clear connection between fishing and clean water." He talks about the reliance of small rural Dakota towns on the tourist dollars from hunters and fishermen and winds up with global warming: "It's real." Mallards that used to appear in vast numbers in South Dakota by October 1, the day the hunting season starts, now stay in Canada till January.

What a terrific speech! I not only want to vote for Obama more than ever, I want to go fishing too. In South Dakota. While it still has fish.

[F]ormer Joyce Foundation board member Barack Obama has secured yet another faux Second Amendment supporter in "lifelong Republican" Tony Dean, a long-time host of hunting and fishing television shows in South Dakota. Dean told the Dallas News he’s switching parties to head a Sportsmen for Obama group.

A "lifelong Republican" that is "switching parties to head a Sportsmen for Obama group"?

This is an interesting claim, given that Dean was mentioned by the Rapid City Journal in 2003 as a "possible Democratic candidate for Congress" who endorsed Democrat Senator Tim Johnson for reelection just a year earlier. Dean’s efforts to draw gun owners to Johnson weren’t enough, and Johnson’s Republican challenger, John Thune, became a U.S. Senator from South Dakota. According to public records, Dean donated money to another anti-gun South Dakota Democrat, Tom Daschle, also in 2003.

For Tony Dean to have "switch[ed] parties to head a Sportsmen for Obama group" he would have to have done so at least two years before Obama was even elected to Senate, and five years prior to he announced his presidential bid. Indeed, it appears the word "lifelong" is as difficult for Dean and the Obama campaign to define as the word "is" is to Bill Clinton.

Dean is quoted by the Dallas News as saying he’s "99 percent sure a President Obama isn’t going to infringe on gun rights." But seeing as Mr. Dean, who at least one blogger has been dubbed ‘South Dakota’s Al Gore’ because of his fervent belief in human-cause global warming, describes himself as a "moderate on the gun issue" who "opposes the NRA on most gun issues," his assurances about Obama aren’t likely to be much consolation to pro-gun voters.

A group of hunters and anglers called on the next president to tackle global climate change, saying the problem is the single biggest threat to America's dwindling fish and wildlife populations.

Speaking at a reception at a Denver hotel, members and supporters of the National Wildlife Federation said the nation needs an energy policy that emphasizes renewable, clean energy and that turns away from coal and petroleum products.

"There is no question CRP is in jeopardy of heading down the Soil Bank path if we don't address the program's economic viability given the landscape of today's agricultural market," said Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever's vice president of government affairs.

The Soil Bank Conservation Reserve Program largely had been credited with creating the first era where wildlife flourished, Nomsen said. The program ended in 1962 and as contracts expired, millions of acres of critical wildlife habitat were plowed. Wildlife populations plummeted.

Environmental and conservation groups say the same thing will happen if farmers opt out early or simply let their CRP contracts end.

"Rules, regulations, appropriations and promotion of conservation programs are all critical to the magic of turning law into habitat on the land," Nomsen said.

In the 2008 farm bill, Congress decreased the number of acres allowed in the CRP program from 39.2 million acres to 32 million acres.

And farmers continue to take land out of the program, enticed by new global markets and federal mandates to turn more corn into ethanol.

Now they can’t have it both ways. I wonder what Tony Dean has to say about that?

UPDATE: I was right about Tony Dean being there. If you read further down the link at the top you will find this:

"Contrary to what may be the popular opinion, a growing number of sportsmen and sportswomen realize we need a real energy policy and a bold new energy policy," said wildlife columnist and TV host Tony Dean of Pierre, who attended the reception.

January 25, 2008

Tony Dean has a column in the Argus Leader that includes this attack on South Dakota Republican legislator Betty Olson:

Senate Bill 96 currently before the state Senate is legislation deserving of death. This idea, sponsored by a "who's who" of Game, Fish & Parks critics and anti-sportsmen lawmakers, would take South Dakota a giant step toward Texas-style, pay-for-play big game hunting by allowing the issuance of landowner-sponsored big game hunting licenses. But you should realize landowners already receive 50 percent of the licenses available in each county and these would come from deer licenses set aside for South Dakota residents. Sportsmen would lose, while a handful of ranchers would have the state helping them get into commercial big game hunting by assuring them of a customer base.

You'll find Olson's name on other absurd proposals, including another attempt to prevent conservation officers from entering private land without landowner permission; and another that would allow a daily bag limit of 25 pheasants on shooting preserves.

Shooting that many pheasants in a single day might satisfy a game hog with a fat wallet, but it wouldn't do much for the image of hunting. Rep.Olson was one of the leaders of the failed West River Lockout, which gives you an idea of where she's coming from. She's also the chief sponsor of legislation that would make mountain lions a varmint once they are seen outside the Black Hills. In another piece of legislation, the Game, Fish & Parks Department would be required to reimburse motorists whose vehicle hit a deer. Nonsense, sheer nonsense.

You can bet participating landowners would market those big game licenses for substantially more than they pay for them because, well, that's the whole idea. Big game licenses should not be sold by individual ranchers, but instead by the department of Game, Fish & Parks. It's a backhanded attempt to claim ownership of wildlife that belongs to all citizens.

Chris Hesla and Dave Nauman, who lobby for the South Dakota Wildlife Federation, told me they expect this bill to come out of the Senate Ag and Natural Resources Committee and likely with a "do pass" recommendation, a slap in the face of South Dakota sportsmen and women.

The legislation that would increase the daily pheasant bag limit to 25 on shooting preserves is SB 167, while Betty Olson is also sponsoring a house version (HB 1177) of the landowner big game transferable license as well as HB 1148, which would prevent Conservation Officers from going on private land without landowner permission.

Here is a comment that was made in response:

I'm not sure if Tony has sunk to an incredible low in his journalistic career or simply lost his mind, but more and more frequently his writing is full of inaccuracies if not outright lies. This story illustrates this point perfectly. I do not personally agree with everything Betty Olson supports but would never consider attacking her with falsehoods as Tony does in this article.

Check the facts on the bills Mr. Dean references as her creations: HB 1177 landowner big game transferable license and HB 1148 which would prevent Conservation Officers from going on private land. The reality in 2008 is HB 1148 is "An act to exempt the land application of certain solid waste used for irrigation purposes from requirements related to large-scale solid waste facilities" and House Bill 1177 is "an act to create the beverage container recycling and redemption program".

Rep.Olson is not signed on to either of these bills, but is listed on SB 167 which is referenced in this article as the Senate version of a bill to increase the daily pheasant bag limit to 25 on shooting preserves, but the 2008 bill is actually "An act to revise the penalty for a train blocking a street, road, or highway under certain circumstances."

In the current, 2008, legislative session there is not an open fields bill or a bill to raise limits on shooting preserves. The only bill mentioned in this article that accurately reported is Senate Bill 96 "to provide for the issuance of landowner-sponsored big game hunting licenses."

The bills Tony refers to as HB 1177, HB 1148, SB 167 were presented in the 2007 Legislative Session in the context reported in this article and all died. Is this sloppy journalism at it's best or an absurd personal attack at worst!

Ouch! And SB 96 did past the test in committee on Thursday and will be on the Senate Floor soon. All it does is throw a bone to landowners. It is a far cry from Texas-styled hunting.